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Monday, May 21, 2012

Pulissery – a Kerala speciality is sweet and sour, yoghurt
and coconut based gravy spiced with green chillies. Pulissery is a close cousin of Moru Kootan.
Acutally there is not much difference except that pulissery generally makes use
of seasonal fruits like Ripe Mangoes, Nendram Pazham or Pineapples whereas
vegetables like Ash gourd, Pumpkin, Yam etc are added to Moru Kootan. Pulissery
is an integral part of the Sadhya/feast Menus in most parts of Kerala. Just
like the Adai Avial combo, Idiyappam and Pulissery is a popular combination in
Trivandrum.

Mangoes are everywhere in the market and we have been
gorging on mangoes in every form. Right from pickles, gravies, milkshakes to
smoothies. Couple of days, back I prepared the mambazha pulissery. The
pulissery was really delicious and I will be making it a couple of times more
before the end of the mango season.

What you’ll need

Ripe Mangoes – 4 or 5 (small sweet mangoes)

Green Chillies – 5 or 6 (adjust according to taste)

Grated Fresh Coconut – 2 Cups

Thick Sour Curd/Yoghurt – 2 Cups

Curry Leaves – few sprigs

Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp

Salt to taste

For Tempering

Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp

Fenugreek Seeds – ¼ tsp

Dried Red Chillies – 1 or 2

Method

Wash and trim the stem of the mango. Cut into slices and add
it into a vessel.

Add about 2 cups of water, turmeric powder and salt.

Let this boil and then simmer for about 5 to 6 minutes or
till the mangoes are cooked.

In the meanwhile, grind the coconut and green chillies into
a smooth paste using a little of the curd.

Once the mangoes are cooked, add the ground paste and stir
well.

Whisk the curd well add about a cup of water to it and add
it to the above mixture. Mix well.

Simmer till the gravy starts frothing on the sides.

Remove from heat. Add some torn curry leaves.

Heat oil in a small frying pan, temper with mustard seeds
and fenugreek seed. Then add the red chilles.

Pour this tempering over the prepared mango gravy.

Delicious Pulissery is ready. Serve hot with steamed white
rice.

Note:

Generally a special variety of mangoes, which are very small
and sweet are used. But if they are not available you could use any other ripe
mango.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

As a child I used to look forward to the 2 month long summer
vacations. The thought of meeting up with cousins, spending time with
grandparents, gorging on some delicious food always brought a smile to my lips.
Most of my vacations were spent at my grandparents place. Neither did we go to
any special summer classes or hobby classes; nor can I say that I had a big
gang of friends at my grandparents place. But somehow, I don’t remember getting
bored.

I remember we had a kind of routine even during our holidays.
We used to wake up, (not very early morning), spend at least an hour solving math
problems and writing a page of cursive handwriting (Loads of importance was
given to handwriting then) and then the rest of the day was ours. I remember
spending most of the time playing some silly games with my brother and a girl
who lived in the opposite house. Though we had our set of quarrels, but we’d
become friends with the same speed as we fought. Apart from playing, I read
books, helped mom in small ways, loved to listen to stories from my grandma and
there my vacations would’ve come to an end and it would be time to pack our
bags. Wish I could get into a time machine and go back to those good old days.

As the saying goes, “Change is the only constant”, times
have really changed. Today, if you ask a child about his plans for the
holidays, you’ll be amazed to know that he has a busier schedule than a working
adult. From dawn to dusk, he attends a minimum of 4 to 5 classes – anything
from, swimming, cricket coaching, tennis, yoga, karate, art and craft, western
dance, abacus and what not. The options before him are just too many. Caught in
this busy hustle, today’s child has lost the simple joys of life – like reading
a comic, chatting up with a cousin/friend or just playing around in the front
yard.

I do understand that these classes are a great way to learn
something new and interesting. Keeping them engaged in these classes for 1 or 2
hours sounds good but not the entire day. At the end of the day, they are still
children aren’t they?

Now off to today’s recipe, which is a really simple salad
perfect for the scorching heat and for times when you don’t feel like being in
the kitchen for more than 10 minutes.

What you’ll need

Watermelon – 1 cup, deseeded and cubed

Papaya – 1 cup, deseeded and cubed

Apple – ½ cup, cored and cubed

Cucumber – ½ cup, deseeded and cubed

Dressing

Lemon Juice – 2 tbsp

Ginger Juice – 1 tbsp

Honey – 1 tbsp

Mint Leaves – 5 to 6, torn

Pepper Powder – ¼ tsp

Salt

Method

Chill the chopped fruits until serving.

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing and refrigerate
till use. Make the dressing at least half an hour before serving.

While serving, Place the fruits in a bowl and drizzle the
dressing liberally. Add salt to taste. Toss well and serve.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

I and my daughter are paneer lovers. I don’t know, how many
times I have mentioned this, in my blog
itself. Anything that has paneer in it is heartily welcomed by my daughter. Most of the days her school lunch box would
contain a few bits of leftovers, but the days, I prepare something with paneer,
the box would be polished off clean. She doesn’t mind eating it plain as well.

I remember a small incident which happened sometime ago. I
usually like to stock a block of paneer in the freezer, which mostly comes in
handy while preparing lunch for my daughter. Now, even though she would love to
eat paneer everyday, I give it to her only once or twice in a week. One fine
morning I was out of stock of any veggies other than a few onions and tomatoes.
My mind immediately went to the paneer sitting in the freezer. Here, there was
a surprise for me. When I opened the freezer, I could see only the empty
wrapper of the paneer packet. I knew this had to be lil one’s job. When I asked
her, she told me that she had been sneaking and having small bites of paneer
every now and then J

When Kalyani announced this month’s magic ingredients, I was
really glad. My daughter also was very happy ‘cos she got have some scrumptious
sandwiches. I am sure all paneer lovers will love these healthy and delicious
sandwiches.

Makes 5 Sandwiches

What you’ll need

Bread Slices – 10, (White or Wheat)

Butter – as required

For the Sandwich Filling

Paneer/Cottage Cheese – 150 gms

Fresh Mint Leaves – ½ Cup

Fresh Coriander Leaves – ½ Cup

Fresh Grated Coconut – ¼ Cup

Mango Pieces – 2 tbsp

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Green Chilly – 2

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Pepper Powder – ¼ tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Separate the mint and coriander leaves from its stems. Wash
and rinse well.

Grind the mint leaves, coriander leaves, coconut, and mango,
green chilly and ginger into a smooth paste without adding water. Add a tbsp of
water only if required.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

English breakfast was the theme that we Gourmets decided
upon for this month. This was quite challenging for me as I am not familiar
with English Cuisine. I chose on trying out Pancakes. While searching for a
good recipe, I got to know a lot of interesting facts about these humble pancakes.

Pancakes are a westernized version of the Indian Dosa. They
are very popular in the Europe and the Americas. Now, the English Pancakes are
very thin when compared to their American counterparts. These are traditionally
served with a sprinkle of caster sugar and a squeeze of lemon and rolled. Did
you know that there is a day called the “Pancake Day”. (I did not know until I
started searching for the Pancake recipe). Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day is
celebrated a day before “Ash Wednesday” or a day before Lent. It iscalled Pancake Day because it is the
day traditionally for eating pancakes as pancake recipes were a way to use up any
stocks of milk, butter and eggs which were forbidden during the abstinence of
Lent.

Almost all the recipes used eggs in them. (They have to isn’t
it, since the idea behind pancake day was to use up the eggs.) But I did find a
good recipe which did not use eggs and the pancakes turned out really good.
Though I wanted to try the traditional sugar and lemon, but I could not as I
was not of stock of lemons. Instead we had it with a drizzle of honey and they
tasted yummy. Making thin round pancakes is an art which needs some practice. I’ll
have to make them a number of times to get that perfect shape.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Agni Nakshatram or Kathri is a period of about 25 days,
during the month of May, when the temperatures are supposed to rise and be at
the peak. This year it started on May 4 and ends on May 28th 2012.
There are slight variations in the dates every year.

But keeping aside the high temperatures and the sweltering
heat, summer also brings with it the season of Mangoes – the King of Fruits. These
fruits can be enjoyed in any form – be it raw or ripe. This versatile fruit can
be eaten as is or can be used to put together a variety of preparations.
Anything from gravies, pickles, juices, milkshakes, smoothies, ice creams, and
even cakes can be dished out of these delicious fruits.

Ours is a mango loving family. Once these fruits start
making their appearance in the markets, our pantry would definitely have stock
of them until the season ends. So selecting a recipe for Blog Hop from Sumedha’s
space was not difficult. Chopped fruits in a Mango sauce – this immediately
caught my attention. This light yet filling dessert turned out to be very yummy
and was liked by all in the family.

Serves – 4 to 5

What you’ll need

Mango Pulp – 4 cups

Fresh Cream – ¾ cup

Green Cardamom – 5

Sugar – 4 to 5 tsp (Optional)

Mixed Fruits – 3 cups (I used apples, pomegranate, banana,
grapes)

Dry Fruits – ½ cup (Dates, Raisins, Roasted Cashew nuts,
Almonds)

Method

Combine mango pulp, fresh cream, green cardamom and sugar in
a blender until well blended.

Chill this mango sauce until use.

Chop all the fruits into small pieces and chill separately.

In a flat dish, add the mixed fruits and dry fruits top with
the mango sauce.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Away from the scorching heat of Chennai, Bangalore feels like
heaven to me. While in Chennai, I just prepared some usual fare of rice and vegetables
and would try to come out of the kitchen as soon as possible. I am not at all a
rice person, given an option I would definitely go for roti subzi. But due to
the heat in Chennai, I did not venture into making rotis. Now that I am in
Bangalore, and the weather here is so much better than that of Chennai, decided
to make some hot rotis and subzi.

Having decided that roti, it was for lunch, finalizing a
subzi is not an easy job. While rummaging through my mom’s refrigerator, I
found a bag of fresh Okra/Lady’s Finger/Bhindi. Now this particular veggie is a
favorite with my kids. So decided to make this tasty restaurant style dish –
Bhindi Do Pyaaza.

Bhindi Do Pyaaza is a dry preparation, of crisp stir fried
okra with spicy and tangy semi dry gravy of onions and tomatoes. The addition
of the spice powder gives it a wonderful flavor and aroma. Tastes best when
served with some hot phulkas and pickle.

Serves – 4 to 5

What you’ll need

Lady’s Finger/Okra – 500 gms

Onion – 2 Big, thinly sliced

Onion – 1 Medium, cut into big chunks

Tomato – 4 Medium, finely chopped

Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp

Chilly Powder – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

For the Spice Powder

Fennel Seeds/ Saunf – 2 tsp

Coriander Seeds – 1 tbsp

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Method

Powder the ingredients for the spice powder and keep aside.

Wash and wipe the lady’s finger. Cut into 1 inch pieces.

Heat a Kadai with oil. Add the Lady’s finger cover and cook
on medium flame for about 10 minutes or till the vegetable is cooked.

Remove lid, add salt and fry for another 4 to 5 minutes or
till the lady’s finger turns crisp. Transfer these into another vessel and keep
aside.

Heat another kadai with oil. Add cumin seeds, once the color
changes add sliced onions and the onion chunks and turmeric powder. Fry till
the onions are light brown.

Next add the finely chopped tomatoes and fry till the
tomatoes turn completely mushy and the raw smell disappears.

Now add the chilly powder and salt. Mix well.

Add the fried lady’s finger pieces and mix well.

Finally add the spice powder and give a good mix taking care
not to break the lady’s finger pieces. Fry for a minute. Remove from heat.

That’s it, yummy and delicious Bhindi Do Pyaaza is ready.
Serve as an accompaniment with rotis.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Fennel / Sunf is a highly aromatic
and flavorful herb with culinary and medicinal uses, and, along with
similar-tasting anise, is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe. Fennel
contains anethole, which can explain some of its medicinal effects: it, or its
polymers, act as phytoestrogens. Dried
fennel seed is brown or green in colour when fresh, slowly turning a dull grey
as the seed ages. For cooking, green seeds are optimal. Fennel seeds are
sometimes confused with those of anise, which are similar
in taste and appearance, though smaller. Fennel is also used as a flavouring in
some natural toothpastes. Many cultures in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and the Middle East use fennel
seed in their cookery. Fennel is one of the most important spices in Kashmiri
Pandit and Gujarati
cooking. It is an essential ingredient of the Assamese/Bengali/Oriya spice mixture panch phoron and in Chinese five-spice
powders. In many parts of India and Pakistan, roasted fennel seeds
are consumed as mukhwas, an after-meal digestive and breath freshener.

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Here are some simple rules for the
event:

1. Bloggers and Non-Bloggers
are welcome to send in any number of recipes, archived ones need to be
re-posted and linked to this PAGEand Anu’s
event announcement PAGE.

2. Use of LOGO is mandatory, which
will help to spread the word.

3. Bloggers and Non-bloggers
can send in the recipes to kaverivenkatesh@gmail.com
with the following details before June 5th 2012.

Name
of your Blog

Recipe
Name and URL

A
photograph of the dish

This event is an ongoing event for
the future months and anyone interested to guest host can drop an email to anu
(dot) healthykitchen (at) gmail (dot) com. She will remind you a week before
the event and also send you the "Event Logo" for the particular month
and "Event Announcement Page/Document" too. You just need to copy and
post the document as a Guest Event Post.

So Friends, don your aprons and support
this event by sending in as many of your lovely entries.